Some cigarette smokers prefer the process of making their own cigarettes to buying pre-rolled and pre-packaged cigarettes. For example, the individual components of a cigarette, such as tobacco and cigarette papers, when purchased in bulk, are often less expensive per cigarette than pre-made cigarettes. In addition, some people find enjoyment in making their own cigarettes, and may even consider cigarette-rolling to be a challenging endeavor in which to demonstrate skill.
One way to make cigarettes individually and manually is to place an amount of loose tobacco in a cigarette paper and roll it between one's fingers. However, this approach is limited in that it is somewhat difficult to produce a cigarette of uniform shape and fill, and outside influences (for example, bad weather in an outdoor setting, or jostling from other people in a crowded area) may increase the difficulty. Relatively small and simple devices that allow a user to make cigarettes are available; however, such devices small enough to fit comfortably in one's hand or on a table may not be capable of rolling consistently a high-quality cigarette. Other devices, though capable of improved function, may be too large to be carried easily in a pocket or handbag, if they may be carried at all.
Rolling devices conventionally include a framework in which two roughly parallel rollers are closely arranged, and in which a looped belt is configured to encompass the rollers, with enough slack to form a groove or recess between the rollers in which loose tobacco may be formed into a cylindrical shape. Usually, at least one of the rollers is movable between two positions: an “open” configuration in which the rollers have their greatest separation, so that a broad, shallow recess in the belt between the rollers is formed, into which loose tobacco may be placed, and a “closed” configuration in which the rollers have their least separation, so that the belt forms a narrower and deeper recess, in which the loose tobacco may be compressed or shaped by movement of the belt over the rollers. In such devices, a piece of cigarette paper may then be fed between the rollers and rolled around the compressed tobacco to form a finished cigarette.
Different constructions are used to enable movement of the rollers relative to each other. In some devices, the ends of the movable roller may be journaled in a slot that defines a range of movement of the roller (relative to the other roller), as the ends are slid along the slot. In some devices, the moveable roller is mounted on a pair of hinged arms that may swing the moveable roller away from, or toward, the other roller. Some devices may include two pairs of arms on a central hinge, so that the rollers may be moved away from, or toward, each other by opening and closing the hinge. Such devices, however, are prone to a number of difficulties in use, such as in manipulating the looped belt to form a cylinder of tobacco having a cigarette paper around it, rolling the rollers or otherwise smoothly moving the belt over the rollers to compress the tobacco, accumulating tobacco debris within the slots or openings holding the ends of the rollers, and binding of the looped belt as it passes through the device, and so forth. Each of these difficulties may result in a substandard manually-rolled cigarette, user frustration, mechanical failure, and so forth.
Also, such devices typically do not provide a mechanism by which a compressed cylinder of tobacco may be inserted into a pre-formed cigarette tube, for example if a user would prefer to use a pre-formed cigarette tube instead of a leaf of cigarette paper. Pre-formed tubes are commercially available, some of which include filter tips, which may be difficult to incorporate into a cigarette rolling device. Instead, different types of injector machines are available, which operate by compressing loose tobacco in a chamber, and then forcing the compressed tobacco into a pre-formed tube. Such machines are generally too large and/or mechanically complex to allow portability.